Pharmalot.. Pharmalittle.. Good Morning: We’re Catching up on Hospira, Vertex and Lots More!!

By

Ed Silverman

Jul 6, 2015 9:07 am ET

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope those of you on this side of the pond enjoyed the long holiday weekend and had a chance to hit the refresh button, because that familiar routine of meetings, deadlines and what-not has predictably returned. But you knew this moment would come, yes? After all, the world keeps on spinning. So please join us as we fortify ourselves with some cups of stimulation and dig in for another busy day. Hope all goes well and do stay in touch…

The central purchasing agency for the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris in France has decided to buy the biosimilar version of Remicade from Hospira after the drug maker offered a 45% discount from the brand-name version; The FDA approved a cystic fibrosis treatment from Vertex Pharmaceuticals called Orkambi, which could treat as many as 8,500 patients in the U. S., but with an annual wholesale cost of $259,000 per patient; Purdue last week withdrew a supplemental New Drug Application related to its abuse-deterrent formulation of OxyContin, raising questions about postmarketing requirements for the drug; and more than 760 doctors received payments from the pharmaceutical industry on more than half of the days in 2014, and more than 14,600 doctors received payments on at least 100 days in 2014.